The cat - an introduction to the study of backboned animals, especially mammals (1881) (20593387111)

Title: The cat : an introduction to the study of backboned animals, especially mammals
Identifier: catintroduction00miva (find matches)
Year: 1881 (1880s)
Authors: Mivart, St. George Jackson, 1827-1900
Subjects: Cats; Anatomy, Comparative
Publisher: New York : Scribner's
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



Text Appearing Before Image:
OHAP. XII.) DIFFERENT KINDS OF CATS. 399 while the tail itself (which is ringed with black) is some thirty-two inches. The limbs are short compared with the body and very long tail, and the head is somewhat elongated compared with that of any of the cats yet noticed. The skull is very long and low. The orbit is widely open behind. The animal differs from all the cats yet noticed, in that it has not the tooth described as the first upper premolar, while that answer- ing to the common cat's second upper premolar is not very large.
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 169.—Skull of the Clouded Tiger (Felis macrocelis). The upper canines, however, are exceedingly long, longer relatively than in any other living cat. The upper sectorial tooth has a large inner cusp. The pupil is neither round nor linear when contracted, but has an oblong aperture. This animal affords a good example of the great individual differences of disposition which may exist in the same species of cat. One specimen in our Zoological Gardens was a most tame and gentle beast, while another was quite exceptionally ill-tempered and savage. The clouded tiger dwells in trees. It preys upon such animals as sheep, goats, pigs or dogs.. Its range, though extensive, is more restricted than that of any species yet noticed, as it inhabits only a portion of south-eastern Asia, from the eastern Himalayas, through Burmah, Siam and the Malay peninsula, to Sumatra, Borneo and Java. It also inhabits Formosa. One from the last-named island has been described by Mr. Swinhoe as a distinct species.* It is, however, only a some- what brighter coloured and shorter tailed variety. * As the short-tailed clouded tiger I Zoological Society, 1862, p. 352, plate (Felis brachyurus). (Leopardus bra- iZ). chyurusy Swinhoe, Proceedings of the I